Still much at stakeUMass looks for top spot, while Bonnies cling to lastBy Danny Picard, The Daily Collegian Staff, 2/21/2007

t. Bonaventure is tied for the worst overall record in the Atlantic 10, but there is just as much at stake for the Bonnies as there is for the Massachusetts men's basketball team in tonight's game at the Mullins Center.

UMass hosts St. Bonaventure (6-19, 3-9 A-10) in the first of a three-game homestand - the final three games of the season in Amherst - tonight at 7 p.m. The Maroon and White look for its 20th win of the season against the Bonnies. It would mark the first 20-win campaign since 1997-98 when UMass went 21-11.

The Minutemen (19-7, 9-3 A-10) go into the game tied for second place in the conference with Xavier (19-7, 9-3 A-10), half a game behind first-place Rhode Island (17-10, 10-3 A-10). The Musketeers host the Rams tonight as well, making UMass' game against St. Bonaventure even more meaningful.

"This time of year you can't look at your opponents," UMass coach Travis Ford said. "You just have to go out and play as hard as you possibly can and you need to be playing your best basketball.

"[St. Bonaventure] has a lot to play for, as well as we do," he added. "So we just can't overlook this basketball team."

The Bonnies are on a five-game losing skid, and hold the 12th spot (out of 14) in the A-10 standings. That 12th spot, however, is a big one. It is the last seed that makes the cut for the A-10 Tournament in March.

Leading the way for St. Bonaventure is junior forward Michael Lee. He paces the Bonnies in scoring with 13.3 points per game. Senior big man Paul Williams is the team's leading rebounder with 7.7 per game, while averaging 11.9 points per contest.

"They've got a good scorer in Tyler Relph, who can really get hot," Ford said. "They've got two inside players, Lee and Williams that are as active and good inside players that we'll play against. They have their strengths as a basketball team.

"They're very disciplined. They're going to come down and run their offense, and they're going to change defenses on you a little bit."

St. Bonaventure junior swingman A.J. Hawkins has been one of the only bright spots in recent games for the Bonnies. He has averaged 22.3 points in the past three contests, with 23 at Temple, 24 against Dayton and 18 against St. Joseph's. He is now fourth on the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game.

The Bonnies have a poor overall record, and it doesn't get any better when they hit the road. They are just 3-9 when away from home, but that doesn't mean a victory is automatic for UMass, which returns home after a successful three-game road trip.

"We're excited to be back, but again our team can't think just because we're at home it's a guaranteed win because we've had our nights in the Mullins Center where we have not played well," Ford said.

For the most part, the Minutemen are a tough team to beat at the Mullins Center, holding an 8-2 record at home this season. The only two losses came against Boston College on Dec. 2 and against Miami on Jan. 2.

UMass has had strong performances from junior Gary Forbes as of late. He's averaged 20.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in the last five contests.

Seniors Stephane Lasme and Rashaun Freeman have provided their usual double-double performances down the stretch, and combined with a most-recent threat of bench players Dante Milligan and Brandon Thomas, the Minutemen look like a force to be reckoned with as a top seed in Atlantic City.

MHERST - Finishing in the top four in the Atlantic 10 to earn a first-round tournament bye ... Winning 20 games ... Taking the Atlantic 10 regular-season title.

Those goals, which were just ideas a few weeks ago, are now very attainable for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team as it heads into tonight's game at 7 against St. Bonaventure at the Mullins Center.

If the Minutemen (19-7, 9-3 A-10) win two of their final four games, they would assure themselves a first-round bye in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. That goal that can also be achieved by combinations of one UMass win and losses by certain teams below them in the standings.

If the Minutemen win their final four games, they would earn at least a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship.

'We want to be champions or cochampions, we can't control that really, but we'd like to be atop the Atlantic 10 that's for sure,' UMass coach Travis Ford said. 'I haven't got too caught up in first-round byes. We're trying to figure out how to win this thing. It's not going to be easy because there's three of us (Rhode Island at 10-3 and UMass and Xavier both 9-3) at the top. Right now it's just about the next game.'

Senior big man Rashaun Freeman said nothing would be gained from being concerned about anything that is not directly in the team's control.

'That can be a distraction if we're thinking about it,' Freeman said. 'We're doing well so a couple teams have to do badly for us to be in a good spot. If we continue a little bit more, just to worry about us, I think we'll be fine. Even though we're doing well, we can't worry about other teams because we can control our own destiny.'

The Minutemen are trying to win 20 games for the 13th time in school history. They last reached the plateau when they went 21-11 in the 1997-98 season.

'Twenty wins is still a mark of a good season,' Ford said. 'I told our team the other day we've already had a really good season. We want to make it great. We have a chance to make it an incredible year if we continue to win basketball games.'

Standing in the way of No. 20 is a struggling St. Bonaventure team at 3-9 (6-19 overall) and in 12th place in the A-10. They are trying not to sink below that as the 13th (La Salle, 3-10) and 14th (Richmond, 2-10) teams in the conference are left out of next month's Atlantic 10 Tournament in Atlantic City.

The Bonnies hold tiebreakers over the two teams below them because two of their three wins came against the Explorers and Spiders.

St. Bonaventure, which has struggled in the four seasons since an eligibility scandal, has not won more than eight games in a season under coach Anthony Solomon, who took on the difficult task of rebuilding the program following the events of 2002-03. According to the Buffalo News, Solomon's job could be in jeopardy after the season.

The Bonnies arrive in Amherst on a five-game losing streak. Tonight will be their third game since dismissing junior Zarryon Fereti, the team's No. 2 scorer at 12.1 points per game, for not 'following team philosophies.'

Junior big man Michael Lee leads the team at 13.3 points and six rebounds per game. Fellow big man Paul Williams is next at 11.9 points and 7.7 rebounds. The two have accounted for 44.5 percent of points scored by players who are still on the roster.

St. Bonaventure is allowing 76.8 points per game, second worst in the conference only to only Duquesne, which plays at a much faster pace. The Bonnies are last in scoring margin (-8.6) and next-to-last in shooting percentage (.415), which is surprising for a team that relies on inside players for offense.

Still, the Minutemen are not taking tonight's game fro granted.

'I don't think they'll take St. Bonaventure lightly,' Ford said. 'I'm worried that we'll think we're at home and we're automatically going to win because we've won big on the road. I think they understand and respect the capabilities of St. Bonaventure.

Freeman, who has averaged 21.4 points in five previous games against the Bonnies, said, 'They don't have anything to lose. We have a lot to lose. We have to have the mind-set to go in there and take care of business.'

NOTE: Both the players in the locker room and the coaches in Ford's office prepared for practice Tuesday by watching ESPN Classic's broadcast of a Kentucky-Louisiana State game from 1994.

The Wildcats, with Ford at point guard, came back from a 31-point deficit to beat the Tigers on the road. Ford had 10 points and 12 assists in the game, which was the biggest second-half comeback in NCAA history.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage including a frequently updated UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.

UMass Earns 20th Victory Of Season With 83-44 Win Over St. BonaMinutemen become just 13th team in school history to post 20 wins in a seasonFrom UMass Athletics, 2/21/2007

MHERST, Mass. - UMass used a 15-0 early first-half run and cruised the rest of the way to a 83-44 win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night to earn the Minutemen's 20th victory of the season. The senior duo of Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme proved too much in the post scoring a combined 33 points in the game. UMass improves to 20-7 overall and 10-3 in the Atlantic 10 marking the 13th time in school history that the Minutemen have won 20-or-more games in one season.

With the win UMass is now tied with Xavier for first place in the Atlantic 10 after the Musketeers defeated Rhode Island tonight.

The Minutemen were extremely efficient shooting from the floor for the game hitting 53 percent thanks in part to Freeman and Lasme in the paint. Freeman hit 8-of-9 shots for 16 points, while Lasme also went 8-of-9 from the floor for 17 points. As a team, UMass outscored St. Bonaventure (6-20, 3-10) 60-to-36 in the paint.

The Bonnies were led by A.J. Hawkins who scored 12 points and Paul Williams who added 11 points.

St. Bona led 7-4 just 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the game. The Minutemen then mounted a 15-0 run sparked by a jumper from sophomore point guard Chris Lowe and a dunk by Lasme.

At halftime, UMass flexed its muscle to a 36-22 lead which grew to as large as 43 points in the second half. The Minutemen started the half on a 20-to-4 run leading 56-28 on a jumper from Bonner.

The Minutemen again received a spark from its bench as freshman Ricky Harris (Baltimore, Md.) and Luke Bonner (Concord, N.H.) chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively. Bonner scored all of his career-high point total in the second half highlighted by a pair of three-pointers, while Harris had seven of his career-high in the first half.

UMass also controlled the glass with a 43-to-33 edge in rebounds sparked by junior Gary Forbes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who led all players with 10.

Mass has won 20 games in a season for the first time since 1997-98, when they went 21-11. It is the 13th 20-win season in UMass basketball history.

* Stephane Lasme had double-figures for the fifth game in a row, 19th time this season and 39th time in his career with 17. He had 10 in the first half.

* Rashaun Freeman reached double-figures for the 24th time in 27 games this season with 16 points. In his 112 career games, he has 10 or more points in 88 games. He had 12 in the first half.

* Freeman is averaging 20.5 in his six career games against St. Bonaventure. He also is grabbing 11.8 rebounds per game.

* Lasme and Freeman combined to shoot 16-of-18 from the field, for a sparkling 89 field goal percentage. Both players came into the game in the Top 15 in the nation in field goal percent, shooting higher than 62 percent.

* Luke Bonner had a career-high 11 points. He had a total of 21 points the entire season coming into the game. He had six points in the opener against Dartmouth and had 15 points in the following 25 games.

* With two 3-pointers, Bonner doubled his career 3-point total as he had been 1-for-24 in his career including 1-of-13 this season.

* Ricky Harris had his fourth career game in double-figures with a career-high 14.

* Gary Forbes had 10 rebounds for his third game this year, all in the last six contests. Over his last six games, Forbes is averaging 9.5 rebounds per game along with 18.0 points per game.

* Luke Bonner drew two charges in addition to his 11 points.

* UMass had its largest lead of the season in the game at +43. UMass led Dartmouth by 38 points back in the season opener.

* The crowd of 6,203 was the fifth crowd of more than 6,000 this season.

UMass Head Coach Travis Ford
On the team's play:
"I'm very happy with the way we came out and shared the basketball. We played very unselfish and had 23 assists. A way a team like St. Bonaventure can beat you is by hitting a lot of three pointers. We concentrated on not letting them make threes and we were able to hold them to 1 for 13. St. Bonaventure just caught us on a good night. We played very good basketball for 35 minutes."

On the significance of a big win:
"We need to keep our eyes on the big picture. There are things we still want to work on. I don't think coaches ever get to relax during a game, but we were happy to get some people some playing time."

On Luke Bonner's play:
"I'm very happy for Luke. There is not a better teammate in the country. He's just such a great kid. I knew he could play like that, but he's just stuck behind seniors. Every game I expect guys like him and Ricky Harris to be ready to perform. Tonight it was just great to get them some time."

UMass center Luke Bonner
On playing in tonight's game:
"It was a lot of fun out there. I've been looking for a break all year it feels like and it felt really good to finally get one. We made a big statement there and this is the most important time of the year. We just played great. Even more rewarding was to get that assist to Matt Pennie, I must say."

On his playing time this season:
"With guys like Rashaun [Freeman] and Stephane [Lasme] in front of me, you'd have to be a complete idiot to complain about playing time. Coach [Travis] Ford always tells me, "Stay the course and you'll be fine." I'm just trying to get to the NCAA tournament for these guys because it's quite an experience. It would be incredibly selfish to complain about playing time."

UMass forward Stephane Lasme
On tonight's win:
"It felt good, you know, to go out there and get a good beginning to the game. It felt comfortable."

On the team's preparation:
"You want to come to the game ready, no matter who you're playing. We just always want to play as hard as we can and have a good start."

On the reserve players' play:
"We know guys like Luke [Bonner], Ricky [Harris], and Dante [Milligan] are great. They work really hard in practice and beat the starters a lot in scrimmages. We know what they're capable of. Sometimes I think they should be playing more than they are, but that's Coach Ford's decision. I'm not surprised with the way they play. I was cheering for them the whole game."

UMass guard Ricky Harris
On setting a career high for points:
"I didn't pay attention to the career high. I didn't know until Coach [Tim] Maloney pulled me aside after the game and told me I scored a career high. I was just trying to play basketball hard."

On the team's play:
"Everyone stepped up their game. This is the biggest time of the season. Everyone needs to play every game like it's their last."

MHERST - Officially, the game-winning basket came 3 minutes and 50 seconds into Wednesday night's game on a Stephane Lasme dunk.

Stephane Lasme dunks for 2 of the Minutemen's 60 points in the paint.

Everything after that was just statistics as the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team eliminated any suspense quickly and crushed St. Bonaventure 83-44 at the Mullins Center in a game that turned out to be the Luke Bonner Show.

The victory combined with Xavier's 98-72 win over Rhode Island moved the Minutemen into a first-place tie with the Musketeers in the Atlantic 10 at 10-3. UMass improved to 20-7 overall for its first 20-win campaign since the 1997-98 season.

"We're not going to rest after 20 hopefully," UMass coach Travis Ford said. "We need to keep our eye on the big picture and what we're trying to achieve here. We need to stay focused."

Lasme's dunk was part of a 15-0 run that foretold the rout early on. Early in the game, St. Bonaventure coach Anthony Solomon tried to plead with the officials.

"I know you haven't seen us much but we have some guys that can play inside with them," Solomon said.

Not true.

The UMass big men appeared to be capable of big statistics, combining to shoot 16-for-18 from the field, but they spent most of the second half cheerleading for the second team. Ford hooked his starters early and none played in the final 13:31.

Lasme still had 17 points and a season-low one blocked shot in his 20 minutes, while Rashaun Freeman added 16 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. Ricky Harris had a career-high 14 points.

The Minutemen continue their three-game hone stretch Saturday when they host Saint Louis at 7 p.m.

With Freeman and Lasme jumping up and down and high-fiving on the bench, Luke Bonner turned in his best game in college with 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks. He had back-to-back 3-pointers, doubling his career total.

"It was a lot of fun," Bonner said. "I've been looking for a break all year. It feels really good."

Bonner's favorite line in the stat sheet was his one assist. It came with 1:52 remaining when he caught the ball on the left block. He had an opportunity for another basket, but he saw walk-on Matt Pennie, one of his best friends, coming to the basket. Bonner drew the defender and flipped the ball to Pennie, who laid it in.

"That's my homey. I got his back," Bonner said. "He was in the car with me when his dad called him last night and said he couldn't make it to the game tonight. He said, 'Watch I'm going to score tonight in the one game he misses.' I thought that maybe I should just shoot this and save him the grief, but I thought it's better to score without him here than not scoring at all."

Bonner, who has played limited minutes all season, reiterated that he has no problem with his role behind Freeman and Lasme.

"When you have guys like Ray and Steph in front of you, you'd look like the world's biggest idiot if you complained about stuff like that," said Bonner, who got a warm reception from the crowd throughout Wednesday's game. "I go at these guys every day in practice. I'm just trying to get to the NCAA Tournament for these guys. I try to bring the old-school mentality that all that matters is winning."

Lasme wasn't surprised by Bonner's performance.

"We all know what Luke, Ricky and Dante (Milligan) are capable of," Lasme said. "They're all going to be great players. They compete very hard in practice. I'm not surprised at what they did. What Luke did today is nothing different than what he does in practice."

Ford said he was happy for Bonner.

"There isn't a better teammate in the country than Luke Bonner," Ford said. "I knew he could do all that. This is what we see in practice every day."

UMass stretched its lead to 43, its biggest advantage of the season and was on pace to double the Bonnies' total before St. Bonaventure (6-20, 3-10 A-10) scored the game's last four points.

"They caught us on a very good night," Ford said. "We played very good basketball and got good contributions from everybody. They came in prepared but we were just bigger and stronger than they were right now."

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage including a frequently updated UMass sports blog, go to www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/umsports.

MHERST - The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team Wednesday kept pace in the race for the Atlantic 10 title and is close to clinching a bye in the first round of the conference Tournament.

Xavier's 98-72 win over Rhode Island in Cincinnati Wednesday knocked the Rams (10-4) from first place and left the Minutemen and Musketeers tied atop the conference at 10-3.

Xavier is at Dayton Saturday and hosts Saint Joseph's (Wednesday) before closing the regular season at La Salle on March 3. UMass hosts Saint Louis at 7 p.m. Saturday and La Salle at 7 Wednesday before finishing the regular season at Saint Joseph's March 3.

Ricky Harris goes in against Tyler Benson.

The Minutemen can now finish no lower than sixth in the conference. They will be guaranteed at least fourth place and a first-round bye with a win in any of their last three games or losses by both George Washington and Saint Louis.

"We're not worried about that," Luke Bonner said. "We've got three games left."

TWENTY - The win gave UMass 20 wins in a season for the first time since 1997-98, the second year of former coach Bruiser Flint's tenure. The Minutemen went 21-11 that season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

UMass has won 20 or more games in 13 seasons.

"It was one of our goals to get 20 or over, but I'm not ready to stop winning now," senior big man Stephane Lasme said. "I want to get as many as we can."

NEXT UP - The Minutemen stay at home Saturday and host Saint Louis at 7 p.m. The Billikens are 17-10 (7-6 A-10) coming off a 66-56 win over Dayton at home Wednesday.

FREEMAN vs. BONNIES - The Bonnies won't miss Rashaun Freeman, who has averaged 20.4 points per game against them.

LIFE SCORELESS - Senior James Life was held scoreless for the first time this season and the third time in his career. After nine straight games scoring in double figures from Dec. 28 to Jan. 24, Life has been held below double figures in seven straight games.

LASME BLOCKS - Lasme's season-low one blocked shot still moved him up on the NCAA career blocks list. He has 367 which puts him alone in 23rd place as he broke a tie with former Liberty big man Peter Aluma. Next up is Pervis Ellison who had 374 for Louisville.

MISCELLANEOUS - The game featured eight players who started their careers at other Division I schools and transferred to UMass and St. Bonaventure. ... The Minutemen have won five straight against the Bonnies. ... Gary Forbes grabbed 10 rebounds, his third game of double-figure boards in the last six.

hey took care of business last night. And that's all they needed to do.

The Massachusetts men's basketball team beat Saint Bonaventure - a bottom-feeder in the Atlantic 10 on the verge of missing the conference tournament - by a score of 88-43 in front of 6,203 of the UMass faithful.

Senior captains Stephane Lasme and Rashaun Freeman were spectacular as usual. The Twin Towers assaulted the Mullins Center rims with a parade of dunks and strong finishes, and the Minutemen swiftly dismantled the lowly Bonnies to push their conference record to an impressive 10-3.

The game had the potential to trap the cruising Minutemen, who were firing on all cylinders after road wins over Fordham and Dayton, which treated UMass to sell-out crowds on both occasions.

It was an anti-climactic endeavor last night. The crowd wasn't going to do the Minutemen any favors (one of the student sections was mostly empty) and UMass coach Travis Ford has admittedly been puzzled by his team's inconsistent energy this season.

"We say every day that it's just a state of mind," Lasme said. "You should come into the game ready. You want to come into the game ready no matter who you play. It was good to have a good start for once."

Last night's game meant the world to the Bonnies, who are in a heated battle for the 12th and final spot in the A-10 Tournament with La Salle (3-10 A-10) and Richmond (2-10 A-10). St. Bonaventure holds the advantage in tiebreakers with both teams, but the Bonnies still needed a win last night to keep their destiny in their own hands.

For UMass, that's a recipe for disaster. It's happening all over the college basketball spectrum. Teams high on their conference food chain are nose diving in the polls and standings because weaker conference foes are out for blood.

This game could've bitten the Minutemen before they had time to seal the wound. Games like that have low-bridged UMass teams in the past.

But this time the right UMass team showed up and vanquished any possibility of a let down or a bad loss.

"That's what we're supposed to do," Lasme said. "It felt good from the beginning when we started pressing. We felt comfortable. It's just a good win."

The game was sloppy at best. Loose balls were fumbled and tipped and kicked until the player who came up with it traveled trying to get rid of the ball. Rebounds weren't clean and shooting was off.

But UMass didn't give the Bonnies a whiff of victory, and were up by 37 points with just over five minutes left in the game. The "We Want Pennie" chants began with 5:00 left in regulation and big man Luke Bonner kept the crowd interested with two 3-pointers and a baby hook shot down the stretch.

"What Luke did today is nothing different than what he does in practice every day," Lasme said, taking one of the only opportunities he's had to praise his teammate.

Everything went right for UMass last night, and the Minutemen came away with an easy conference victory. It was a breath of fresh air for an embattled UMass squad that hasn't had a win of this magnitude since late November, when the Minutemen blasted Savannah State and Jacksonville State in back-to-back games.

Lasme, Freeman, James Life, Chris Lowe and Gary Forbes all watched the final minutes of last night's game from the bench, cheering and rooting and smiling with a conference victory all but in the books.

The lineup at the end of the game looked like this: Bonner, Etienne Brower, Mike Sinn, Nana Ampim and Matt Pennie. It was Sinn's first action of the year, and he got one shot up (a missed bank-shot) before the final buzzer sounded.

Ford was a calmer version of his usual self, and he actually sat down for the last five minutes of the game. Although he claims that the 39-point victory was no cinch.

"We told them that we had to keep our eye on the big picture," Ford said when asked if he was able to relax during the romp. "There were some things that we wanted to work on throughout the game. I don't think coaches ever relax. But it was good to get some of those other guys playing time."

While Ford surely won't enjoy a slice of the blowout pie, the starters were clearly enjoying the free ride on the pine down the stretch.

Ford, however, has his mind solely on Saint Louis on Saturday night and won't partake in any of the celebratory self-praise.

"I wouldn't call [the game] easy," Ford said. "We played well. We were just bigger and stronger than they were right now. We have a lot of seniors and they have a team that's still rebuilding. They inherited a tough, tough situation and it takes time. So I wouldn't call it easy."

Despite Ford's political-correctness, the Minutemen had some fun with the win last night, exhaling for a few minutes to admire the hurting they put on their opponents. Blowout wins don't come too often this time of year.

he Massachusetts men's basketball team grabbed its 20th win last night against lowly St. Bonaventure, and it marks the first 20-win season since the 1997-98 campaign when Bruiser Flint's Minutemen went 21-11. It is the 13th 20-win season in the history of UMass basketball. The Minutemen hit this historic mark with three wins in a row, including two on the road with sell-out crowds at Fordham and Dayton.

Here are some notes and highlights from the last couple of weeks:

• Stephane Lasme has 367 career-blocked shots, tied for 23rd in NCAA history. Lasme has 136 blocks this season alone, more than 13 teams in the Atlantic 10 and more than 307 of the 336 teams in Division I basketball. He currently holds UMass' single-season blocked-shots record and is first in UMass history in career blocks.

• Junior Gary Forbes has been on an absolute tear, averaging 20.6 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game in the five games preceding last night's contest. He tallied a career-high 31 points in a 98-89 loss at Temple. In the 77-69 win over Dayton on Sunday, Forbes scored a team-high 23 points.

• Lasme got his first block last night with 8:52 left in the first half. He finished with the one block for the game. Lasme had four dunks in the first half and Rashaun Freeman had three, including a high-flying two-handed jam to end the first half.

• The Belchertown youth basketball league had a four-minute scrimmage during halftime of last night's game. It was the loudest the Mullins Center crowd got all night.

• Matt Pennie entered the game with over 3:00 left and the Minutemen holding a 40-point lead. Pennie scored on a dish from Luke Bonner at the 1:39 mark.

• Mike Sinn and Nana Ampin also got into the game last night, playing the last 1:30.

• Xavier was playing Rhode Island during the UMass game last night, and the crowd got frequent updates throughout the game. It's a rare occasion when UMass fans root for Xavier, but last night was one of them. With the Musketeers dismantling of URI last night, the Minutemen moved into a tie for first place in the A-10 once again.

• Luke Bonner, the West Virginia transfer, was averaging 0.9 points per game heading into last night's contest, and bumped that up significantly with 11 points. Bonner checked in with 8:30 left in the first half and exited at the 6:00 mark without cracking the stat sheet. Bonner dropped two of his 11 points at the 11:44 mark of the second half: he ripped down an offensive rebound and threw in a baby sky-hook, much to the crowd's delight. The big man also took a charge with 9:30 left in the second half, and stuck a 3-pointer on the ensuing offensive possession, his second trey of the season.

• St. Bonaventure went for a 6:50 stretch in the first half without scoring last night.

• Travis Ford is a perfect 2-0 vs. St. Bonaventure.

• Dante Milligan has sparked the Minutemen of late, averaging 7.5 points and 9.5 rebounds over the two games at Fordham and Dayton. He averaged just 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in the first 24 games of the season. Milligan turned 23 on the day of the Fordham game and celebrated the day with a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with his nine-point effort.

• Both Freeman and Lasme tallied their 12th double-double at Dayton. Freeman had 15 points and 12 boards. Lasme had 14 points and 12 boards.

• It's Julius Erving's birthday today. Make sure to wish him a happy birthday, even though his judging in the dunk contest was soft.

• The Minutemen became the first team to win at Dayton this season when they beat the Flyers, 77-69, in front of Dayton's usual sell-out crowd.

• Freeman moved up to third on UMass' all-time rebounding list with 12 boards at Dayton on Sunday. He only had three boards against the Bonnies last night.

• Brandon Thomas had a season-high 12 points against Fordham, and added five assists and four rebounds to cap the win. Thomas didn't score in last night's game.

t was just another night at the office for Stephane Lasme and Rashaun Freeman. The duo dominated in the paint and combined for 33 points in the Massachusetts men's basketball team's 83-44 blowout over St. Bonaventure last night at the Mullins Center.

The Minutemen (20-7, 10-3 Atlantic 10) moved into a tie with Xavier for first place as well, thanks to the Musketeers' 98-72 win over Rhode Island this evening.

Rashaun Freeman reverses it for the layup.

UMass wiped the floor with the Bonnies (6-20, 3-10 A-10), and earned its 20th win in the process. It marks the first 20-win season for the Minutemen since 1997-98 when they finished the year 21-11.

"That's always been a bench mark, but hopefully we still have a lot more wins to go," UMass coach Travis Ford said. "We're by no means going to rest after 20. We need to keep our eye on the big picture and what we're trying to achieve here.

"We played well, so I wouldn't call it easy at all," Ford said. "We were just bigger and stronger than they were."

Lasme and Freeman each played less than seven minutes in the second half, but by the time they were taken out for good, UMass had already ended the game.

"That's what we're supposed to do," Lasme said on blowing the Bonnies out of the Mullins Center. "It felt good from the beginning of the game when we started pressing and we just felt comfortable."

UMass' bench was just as relaxed, combining for 41 points. Junior Gary Forbes was the last Minuteman to sub out of the game at 12:55 of the second, and the incoming bench players didn't take it easy on the Bonnies.

The Minutemen held a 51-26 lead at that point, but gave a few more crushing blows to a St. Bonaventure team that could barely defend itself.

Freshman Ricky Harris and junior Luke Bonner led the way for the Minuteman bench. Harris finished with a career-high 14 points in 21 minutes of action, while Bonner scored a career-best 11 points - none better than his pair of 3-pointers from the top of the arc.

"What you saw tonight is what we see in practice everyday," Ford said. "Luke Bonner a lot of times dominates practice. All these guys can play, and when they get into the game we expect them to perform. What they did is what we knew they could do, so it wasn't a big surprise."

"Right now is the most pivotal time of the season and everybody has to step up their game and everybody has to contribute," Harris said. "Like coach Ford told me, I'm not a freshman any more. It's time to step my game up. He said I'm a freshman, but I have to play like a junior."

UMass went into halftime on a powerful Freeman dunk at the buzzer. The last-second fast break effort gave the Minutemen their largest lead of the half at 36-22.

Lasme and Freeman combined for 22 points in the first 20 minutes, and dominated the paint on the offensive side of the ball. The Minutemen scored 30 of their 36 first-half points in the paint, as opposed to the Bonnies' 18.

The game opened with both teams exchanging baskets, and Paul Williams made his presence felt early on, scoring five of St. Bonaventure's first seven points.

The Bonnies held a 7-4 lead on the back of Williams, but UMass went on a 15-0 run that gave the Minutemen a 19-7 lead at the 11-minute mark and never lost the lead.

Plenty of fun to go around for UMassBy Marty Dobrow, The Boston Globe Correspondent, 2/22/2007

MHERST - It is a milestone, but not by any means the final goal.

In pasting the hapless hoopsters of St. Bonaventure, 83-44, last night at the Mullins Center, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen posted their 20th win for the first time in nine years.

"That's always been a benchmark," said UMass coach Travis Ford. "But hopefully we still have a lot of wins in the tank."

"It was one of our goals," added Stephane Lasme, who led all scorers with 17 points. "But I'm not ready to stop winning now. I want to get as many as I can."

One of the team's larger goals is a first-place finish in the Atlantic 10, and that became more attainable as UMass pulled into a tie with Xavier for the top spot. After Xavier's 98-72 ambush of Rhode Island, the Musketeers and Minutemen have identical records of 20-7, 10-3 in the league, with three conference games remaining.

The bigger quarry, of course, is an NCAA Tournament bid. That might well require winning the A-10 tournament next month in Atlantic City, but both teams (Xavier, in particular, because of its better RPI) might stake a claim for an at-large bid with several more victories before Selection Sunday.

Last night involved taking care of business for UMass, and it was never in doubt against a St. Bonaventure team that also posted the magic No. 20 -- at the wrong end of the ledger, falling to 6-20, 3-10. Almost from the start, this one was pure fun for the Minutemen.

In the first half, Lasme and Rashaun Freeman seemed to be doing quality control for Spalding, seeing if the breakaway rims at the Mullins Center could withstand a fearsome pounding. Both blasted home three dunks before intermission, and Lasme added two more afterward in a convincing demonstration of the highest percentage shot. Both players entered the game in the top 15 in the nation in field goal percentage, and climbed up the ladder with identical 8-for-9 showings.

The second half provided some refreshing entertainment in the form of Luke Bonner, the free-spirited, mop-topped 7-footer from New Hampshire. A transfer from West Virginia (and brother of Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs), Bonner has been caught in a logjam behind the vaunted starting pair of UMass big men.

"When you've got guys like Ray and Steph in front of you, you're like the world's biggest idiot if you complain," Bonner said.

Given some precious minutes last night, he took full advantage, becoming Hot Hand Luke. Bonner scored a career-high 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also blocked a game-high three shots, snared five rebounds, drew a pair of charges, and attempted an old-school sky hook. His proudest moment, though, came with 1:30 left when he passed up a shot on the left baseline and hit his best friend, walk-on Matt Pennie, with a bounce pass underneath. Pennie, who used to fold towels as team manager, converted the layup.

Ford said that Bonner, who had scored just 21 points all season coming into the game, has been a key part of the team's success. According to the coach, Bonner often dominates in practice, pushing Freeman and Lasme to new heights. "There's not a better teammate in the country than Luke Bonner," said Ford.

Also part of the joie de hoop was freshman shooting guard Ricky Harris, who tallied a career-high 14 points.

"Right now, it's the most pivotal part of our season," said Harris. "Everybody's got to step up their game and contribute."

The Minutemen return to the home hardwood against Saint Louis Saturday night.

MHERST— After a turbulent January, the University of Massachusetts has been saving its best basketball for the crucial month of February — what with the votes in the Top 25 polls, “SportsCenter’s” top 10 plays, and all that.

Rashaun Freeman reverses it for the layup.

That was furthered last night with an 83-44 drubbing of St. Bonaventure before 6,203 at the Mullins Center that achieved UMass’ first 20-win season since 1997-98 — the last time the Minutemen made the NCAA tournament. UMass won three straight for the second time this month, and has won six of seven dating to Jan. 28.

The Minutemen improved to 20-7, 10-3, and are tied for first in the Atlantic 10 again, this time with Xavier, which knocked Rhode Island out of first with a 98-72 win last night. St. Bonnie’s fell to 6-20, 3-10.

With the win, the Minutemen have slowly picked up steam in their case for an at-large bid — they are 1-4 against the RPI Top 50, their lone win coming against No. 20 Louisville.

Coach Travis Ford said he wouldn’t call the 39-point thrashing — the biggest victory margin this season — an easy win, but take that for what it’s worth. The Minutemen shot nearly 60 percent from the floor, dominated in the paint (60-36) and points off turnovers (23-4), and played their reserves for the last 12 minutes of the game, which explains the 41-8 advantage in bench points.

“I think they caught us on a very, very good night, and we played very good basketball for pretty much 35 minutes,” Ford said.

The Minutemen spotted the Bonnies a 7-4 lead before kicking it into gear with a 15-0 run. Chris Lowe started the streak with a running floater in the middle of the lane before Stephane Lasme (17 points, 8-of-9 shooting) gave UMass its first lead of the half — which it didn’t surrender — with a two-handed slam from the left block.

Lowe then hit Dante Milligan on the right block from up high, and he slammed it home for a 19-7 lead. Paul Williams ended the run with a baby hook over Rashaun Freeman (16 points, 8-of-9 shooting).

St. Bonaventure, however, never was able to put any sort of dent in the Minutemen’s lead, thanks to poor shooting. The Bonnies started the night missing 11 of their first 15 shots, and hit just 10 of 27 from the floor, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range. Overall, they shot just 32 percent, and were just 1 of 13 from downtown.

Freeman slammed home a long fast-break feed from Ricky Harris, who picked up the ball off a steal, just before the buzzer for a 36-22 halftime lead.

UMass opened the second half with an 18-4 run. The Bonnies tried to stop the surge midway through with some trickery — on an inbounds pass from the baseline, Terron Diggs bounced it off Lasme’s back and laid in an easy bucket — but the Minutemen responded with eight more points. From there, the game was out of reach.

The Minutemen’s last starter, swingman Gary Forbes (10 rebounds), left the floor with 12:55 to go, and Brandon Thomas, Ricky Harris, Tiki Mayben, Etienne Brower and Luke Bonner loosened up for some career highs. Harris and Bonner notched highs in points (14 and 11), while Mayben finished with 8 assists, his highest total since 11 on opening night.

MHERST, Mass. — En route to his journey to the locker room for halftime, St. Bonaventure guard Tyler Relph took his frustration out on a chair, kicking it hard to the floor.

That was a mere moment after Massachusetts big man Rashaun Freeman punctuated the game’s initial 20 minutes with back-to-back dunks, the latter with a second remaining. Playing like Relph, the Minutemen continued kicking around the Bonnies the rest of the night.

The final damages were unprecedented, just as the last time Bona ventured out on the road two weeks ago. UMass blew by the Bonnies, 83-44, producing the Minutemen’s largest margin of victory in the 15 years of the Mullins Center.

A loss at Temple on Feb. 7 marked the first time in Bona history that the program had allowed 100 points or more in back-to-back games. That defeat was also by 39 points.

This one was every bit as bad as that blowout in Philly.

“It’s pretty obvious by the score how we played,” Relph said afterward, frustration still evident all over his face.

Winners of six of the last seven games, the Minutemen (20-7, 10-3 Atlantic 10) played like one the Atlantic 10’s premier teams. Bona, meantime, looked again like one of the conference’s worst.

The Bonnies (6-20, 3-10) own the A-10’s longest active losing streak, now at six.

“I think we’re better than the margin showed,” Bona coach Anthony Solomon said. “But you only get a chance to play them one time, and our chance was tonight. The final score is what it is. All we can do is put it behind us really fast.”

Bona would best be served to put in the rear view mirror what was its lowest point total of the season and a porous defensive performance that has become commonplace.

UMass led for all but the first couple minutes of the game and by double figures most of the way after that. The Minutemen starters sat for the better part of the second half, watching the reserves extend the lead.

“Every time we get beat by this much it’s disappointing,” Relph said. “It’s disappointing to get beat this bad. That’s about all I can say.”

The Bonnies’ offense often stalled and the defensive interior was soft. The Minutemen shot 53 percent from the floor and scored 60 points in the paint, mostly on layups and 11 dunks.

UMass’ second field goal of the contest was a sign of things to come. Forward Stephane Lasme head faked Michael Lee and dribbled around him for a jam.

Freeman flushed the Bonnies away just before halftime and reserve Etienne Brower applied the finishing touches late with an emphatic throw down on the break.

Lasme led the way with 17 points while Freeman added 16. Both shot 8-of-9 from the floor and helped UMass to a 43-33 rebounding edge.

“They’re good big men,” Bona center Paul Williams said. “They got the best of me today and they got the ‘W’. That’s all that matters.”

The A-10’s best frontcourt duo did the majority of its work in the first half. The Minutemen shot 59 percent from the floor before intermission and broke the game open with a 15-0 run.

UMass used Freeman’s dunks as starting points for a 15-2 run. The Minutemen outscored Bona 20-4 to start the second half, going up by 25 points and prompting coach Travis Ford to empty the bench with 14 minutes remaining.

Reserves Ricky Harris and Luke Bonner scored 14 and 11 points, respectively. Both were career highs.

“St. Bonaventure just caught us on a good night,” Ford said. “We played very good basketball for 35 minutes.”

With its largest victory of the season, the Minutemen collected win No. 20, the first time the program has done so since the 1997-98 season. With Xavier’s win over Rhode Island Wednesday, UMass pulled into a first-place tie in the A-10 with the Musketeers.

Bona fell into a tie for 12th place with idle La Salle. The Bonnies hold the tie-breaker for the conference tournament’s final berth by virtue of having beaten the Explorers last month.

That was when the Bonnies had won two of three games in A-10. Their last triumph came nearly a month ago.

“It’s just not going our way,” Williams said. “Hopefully, we can practice and try to get better so it turns around.”

Swingman A.J. Hawkins led Bona with 12 points but committed eight turnovers. The Bonnies had 20 turnovers as a team, leading to 23 points. They also shot just 19-of-59 from the floor and 1-of-13 from 3-point range.

“Putting together a complete game,” Solomon said, “does not come easy for us.”

Williams chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds. The senior scored seven of his team’s first nine points as Bona got off to a 7-4 lead just over two minutes in.

That’s when UMass began its 15-0 run, which was highlighted by slams from Lasme, Freeman and Dante Milligan, and a 3-pointer by Harris. The Minutmen led by double digits from there on.

Besides the talented frontcourt combo of Stephane Lasme and Rashaun Freeman, the Minutemen bench was just as good or better than the starters during an 83-44 win over St. Bonvaventure Wednesday at the Mullins Center.

Nine UMass bench players combined for 41 points as coach Travis Ford pulled his starters with 14 minutes to play in the game. Life was scoreless while Forbes and Lowe combin ed for just nine points.

“They work really hard in practice and beat the starters a lot in scrimmages,” Lasme said of the reserves. “We know what they’re capable of. Sometimes I think they should be playing more than they are, but that’s Coach Ford’s decision. I’m not surprised with the way they play. I was cheering for them the whole game.”

n Bonner, a transfer from West Virginia, had just 25 points on the season. His previous high in points was six against Dartmouth early this campaign.

The 6-foot-11 sophomore also played a career-high 17 minutes.

“With guys like Rashaun and Stephane in front of me, you’d have to be a complete idiot to complain about playing time,” Bonner said. “Coach Ford always tells me, ‘Stay the course and you’ll be fine.’ I’m just trying to get to the NCAA tournament for these guys because it’s quite an experience. It would be incredibly selfish to complain about playing time.”

Ford added: “I’m very happy for Luke. There is not a better teammate in the country. He’s just such a great kid. I knew he could play like that, but he’s just stuck behind seniors.”

As a freshman for the Mountaineers, Bonner was a teammate of former Bonnie Mike Gansey on WVU’s 2005 Elite 8 team.

Bonner, Lasme and Freeman combined to shoot 20-of-24 from the field. Solomon felt the Bonnies were overmatched inside.

“It’s February now,” he said. “These games are getting even more physical and people are bumping and hitting. We’ve got to be able to adjust to that kind of play.”

The Bonnies were 1-of-13 from 3-point range. The one make is the fewest this season. The previous low was three triples at Rhode Island.

Bona was in the top half of the A-10 in made 3-pointers, at nearly seven a game.

“The way a team like St. Bonaventure can beat you is by hitting a lot of 3-pointers,” Ford said. “We concentrated on not letting them make threes.”

The game featured 11 Division I or junior college transfers — six for Bona, five for UMass. The Minutemen transfers outscored the Bonnies 26-22.

Bona big men Ivan Kovacevic and Lounceny Kaba each played for the first time in two weeks.

Kovacevic set career highs in minutes (16), rebounds (4) and assists (2) while a scoring a career-best with four points.

The best sign in the arena read, LASME BLOCKS WELDERS.

The nation’s second leading shot blocker had one and the Minutemen had eight as a team.

Bona guard Tyler Relph was held scoreless for the first time on the season. He was 0-for-3 from the field.

Bona center Paul Williams, the A-10’s second leading offensive rebounder, had seven of them Wednesday. The Bonnies and Minutemen each grabbed 17 offensive boards.

Free throws weren’t ‘free’ Wednesday. The Bonnies were 5-of-15 from the charity stripe while UMass was 14-of-24.

The 44 points was a season low, the previous low was the 46 scored in the loss to Boston University.

MHERST, Mass. - Twenty losses. In college basketball, that would go down as a complete failure.

Twenty losses has happened three times in St. Bonaventure coach Anthony Solomon’s four seasons. The dubious distinction was secured Wednesday with an 83-44 pasting the Bonnies took from Massachusetts at the Mullins Center.

Not just 20 losses. At this point, 20 and counting.

When Bona lost eight straight during a disgraceful non-conference slate, we often wondered if winning another game was possible before the season ended. It’s deja vu all over again.

The Bonnies eventually snapped out of the losing ways back in January. Circumstances are different now.

Back then, the Bonnies had the entire Atlantic 10 schedule to make amends. This time of year, teams are either looking forward to postseason or spring break.

At several moments over the last 3 1/2 weeks the Bonnies have played as if they’d rather be home or on vacation for spring recess instead of playing basketball at the A-10 tournament in Atlantic City.

That seemed to be the case last night and two weeks ago at Temple. Both losses were by 39 points.

Like that game on Feb. 7, Bona packed it in midway through the second half against UMass when the margin was clearly too much to overcome.

Guard Tyler Relph insisted that the Bonnies continued to fight. If so, then it’s hard to explain UMass’ final five off the bench ripping through Bona’s starting five for a stretch of a few minutes in the second half.

“We’VE just got to dig down and fight and work harder,” Relph said. “We know we’re better than this.”

Relph is under the belief that Saturday’s game at Duquesne is winnable. He said the same about the Minutemen.

The Dukes have lost four straight. The Bonnies have dropped six in a row.

Something will have to give. Bona likely.

There’s been a lot of talk about the Bonnies being able to back into a berth in the Atlantic 10 tournament, that a win isn’t needed. They’ve played that way, even though Relph said the tournament scenario has had no effect.

“You never know what La Salle (on Bona’s heels for the final tourney bid) is going to do,” Relph said. “They almost beat this UMass team (La Salle lost 79-71). We know what we’ve got to do. We play to win.”

But can the Bonnies win another game under the circumstances?

“It’s expected,” coach Anthony Solomon said. “What (the players) hear and what they think, sometimes is out of my control. When they’re in my sights, I try to keep their minds focused on the right things. If they do that, we’ll continue to improve and put ourselves in position to do some special things down the stretch.”

If they don’t, the Bonnies might lose 10 in a row (assuming they make the A-10 tourney) to close the season. That would be 25 loses, six more than last season and one less than the program record, set in Solomon’s second season.

That scenario would make for an interesting spring break. Then again, the Bonnies might start looking forward to making some noise in Atlantic City.

“If you ask me if I think we’re going to win on Saturday, we all want to prepare to win,” center Paul Williams said. “We’re not just going there thinking we’re going to lose the game. We’re going to play to win.”